Fence-post-boring machine



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

KASSON FREEMAN, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN.

FENCE-PosT-BORING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 227,757, dated May 18, 1880.

Application filed February 9, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, KAssoN FREEMAN, of Grand Rapids, inthe county of Kent and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Bring Fence-Posts; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, whichl will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which- Figures 1 and 2 areelevations representing opposite sides of my machine. Fig. 3 is a plan or top view, and Fig. 4 is an end elevation.

Similar letters of reference indicate correspondingparts in all the figures.

My invention has relation to machines for making fences, and more especially to the boring of fence-posts for the insertion of the rails, boards, or pickets, according to the style of fence it is desired to make.

To this end it consists in the construction and arrangement of parts of a machine of this class, as 4hereinafter more fully described, and particularlyr pointed out in the claims. In the drawings, A is the frame or bed of the machine, upon which is mounted a sliding carriage, B, having a raised part or block, b b, at each end, and 4provided with the dog C and jam-screw D. E E are eccentric bea-rings journaled in opposite ends of the carriage B, and operated by cranks ff', which are provided with ratchet-wheels e e', engaging with spring-pawls d d', as shown more clearly in Fig. l of the drawings.

Upon the opposite side ofthe carriage, Fig. 2, is secured a notched board or marker, F, the notches g of which engage with the lip h of a weighted lever, H, pivoted upon the side of the frame and operated by a spring, Gr. Lever H may be disengaged from the marker F by means'of a cam, t', secured upon thc end of a shaft, I, which is operated by its arm or lever. 1.

On that side of the carriage opposite to the marker is a series of projecting pins or lugs, (denoted by aa 61,) against any one of which the long lever K may be placed in pushing the carriage forward or backward upon its table after disengaging it from lever H. This lever K has its fulcrum in a block, k, secured upon the under part or sill of the frame A.

Projecting at right angles from one side of the main frame is an auxiliary frame, A', which supports a sliding bar, L, having an elbow, L', at one end, in which is journaled the augershaft M, operated by the. pulley N. Shaft M serted into it, may be brought against theI carriage gradually and easily.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings, the operation of my machine will readily be understood.

The post to be bored is placed upon the carriage with its ends resting upon the eccentric bearings E E', which are then adjusted by turning their cranks f j" so as to bring the middle part or line of the post opposite to the auger, or its two ends opposite to the dog C and screw D, respectively, after which it is fastened upon the carriage by turning the screw until it bears against the end of the log, so as to hold it firmly in place. Next, the carriage is slid down to one end of the table until the lip-of leverH catches into the last notch Vof the marker F, and the augeris now brought against the post sidewise by opera-ting lever 0. After the hole has been bored the auger is pushed back from the post, lever H is re` leased from. the marker by turning crank I so as to lift the weighted end of the lever, after which the crank is again let go, and the carriage is slid forward by means of lever K unt-il the lock-lever H engages with the next notch in the marker by the droppin gof its (the levers) weighted end, when its lip his opposite to and enters the next notch g in the marker: The auger is now again brought into play, and so on until the requisite number of holes, equidistant from each other, have been bored in the post, when it is removed from the carriage and another takes its place, after which the carriage is, bydegrceS, slid backv to its starting-point while the holes are being bored, and

IOO

so on until a sufficient number of posts have been bored.

It is obvious that the use of this machine is not limited to the boring of fence-posts, but that it may be employed with advantage for other purposes. Thus, in the construction of a picket-fence the pieces of scantling` which reach from post to post may be bored, a number at a time. upon this machine, to form equidistant holes for the insertion of the pickets.

It is also obvious that an auger of any size may be used, according to the style ot' felice it is desired to make. Thus, for a post-and-rail fence, a four-inch auger should be used to make holes in the post sufficiently large for the insertion of the overlapping ends of the rails; for a board fence, half of the holes are bored With a two-inch auger and the other half' with a one-and-onefourth-inch auger. A mortise is then made, and the ends of the boards are in'- serted and overlapped in the mortises made with the large holes, breakingjoints with the upper boards, which are slipped through the narrow mortises singly.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of' the United States- 1. The sliding carriageB, having end blocks, b b, provided with the dog` C and screw D,ec centric holsters or bearings E E', operated by cranks f f', ratchet-Wheels e e, and springpawls d d', all constructed and arranged substantially as and for the purpose herein shown 

